Free CHST practice test with explained answers

What a good CHST practice test covers

BCSP's CHST blueprint has four domains: hazard and risk identification and control (36.6%), safety program development, implementation and sustainment (22.5%), leadership, communication and training (21%), and emergency preparedness, incident investigation and response (19.9%). You get 4 hours at a Pearson test center. A practice set that ignores those weights will leave you strong on one thing and surprised by another. The exam outline guide breaks each domain down.

3 sample questions

These are original questions written to the published blueprint. They are not real or recalled exam items. Open your own copy of 29 CFR 1926, find the section named in each answer and read it yourself.

1. Hazard and risk identification and control. A competent person inspects a trench 6 feet deep. The soil is cracking and sloughing at the walls, and no protective system is in place. Two workers are inside laying pipe. What is the correct action?

• A. Keep working, and post a spotter at the edge to watch the walls
• B. Get the workers out until sloping, benching, shielding or shoring is in place
• C. Shorten the shift so each worker is in the trench for less time
• D. Wet the walls down so the soil holds together while pipe is laid

Answer: B. A trench this deep needs a protective system unless it is in stable rock, and the competent person has just seen warning signs of a cave-in. Removing the workers is the immediate control, and the protective system comes before anyone goes back in. The rule is 29 CFR 1926.652(a)(1), with daily inspection duties in 1926.651(k). A spotter, less exposure time and wetting the soil all leave people in the hazard. See the excavations guide.

2. Safety program development, implementation and sustainment. A laborer's cut is closed with sutures at a clinic. The worker returns to full duty at the start of the next shift. Is the case recorded on the OSHA 300 log?

• A. No, because the worker lost no days away from work
• B. No, because the worker was back on the job the next shift
• C. Yes, because sutures are medical treatment beyond first aid
• D. Yes, but only if the worker asks for it to be recorded

Answer: C. A work-related injury is recordable when it needs medical treatment beyond first aid, whether or not any days are lost. Sutures are medical treatment. The recording criteria are in 29 CFR 1904.7, and the first aid list is in 1904.7(b)(5). Days away is one recording trigger among several, so options A and B stop too early. Recording never depends on the worker's request. See the recordkeeping guide.

3. Emergency preparedness, incident investigation and response. An entrant in a permit-required confined space stops answering the attendant. The attendant can see the entrant slumped against the wall. What should the attendant do first?

• A. Summon rescue and emergency services, and stay outside the space
• B. Climb in right away, because the entrant may have only seconds
• C. Radio the entry supervisor and wait for the next scheduled check
• D. Send another entrant in to bring the first one out

Answer: A. The attendant's duty is to stay at the opening and call for help, not to go in. Rescuers who enter without a plan and equipment become the next victims, which is why options B and D fail. Attendant duties are in 29 CFR 1926.1209 and rescue arrangements in 1926.1211. See the confined spaces guide.

Practice by domain, then by subpart

Domain 1 is the largest, and most of it maps to OSHA construction subparts. Use these guides to practice one subpart at a time: fall protection, scaffolds, electrical, cranes and derricks, ladders and health hazards. The CHST study guide turns all of it into a six-week plan.

Reading your practice score

A practice percentage is not a prediction of your exam result, ours or anyone's. Use it to decide where to spend the next study session: compare each domain's score with its weight and work the heaviest domain where you lost the most.

Take the free 10-question check

Start the free 10-question check. It covers the four CHST domains, takes minutes, needs no signup, and explains every answer so you see your weak domain before you book.

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Sources

Show the list

• CHST Examination Blueprint (CHST5, V.2022.04.12), Board of Certified Safety Professionals.
• Construction Health and Safety Technician, Board of Certified Safety Professionals.
• 29 CFR Part 1926, Safety and Health Regulations for Construction and 29 CFR Part 1904, OSHA.